LITA publishes a quarterly, open-access and peer-reviewed journal called Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL). As a regular blogger for LITA, I was embarrassed to admit that I was not familiar with this publication when I recently met with Ken Varnum, the new editor. LITA and ITAL are both devoted to exploring the intersection between technology and libraries, everything from digital preservation to vendor relations. The journal is written by and for library technologists and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2018. Not only is it available online, but several archival issues dating back to the 1960s are also available. Back in those days, the journal was known as the Journal of Library Automation (from 1968-1981), until 1982 when the name changed. In 2012, it switched from a print-only subscription publication to an online, open-access journal. Articles such as the 1972 “Regional Numerical Union Catalog on Computer Output Microfiche” provide a fascinating…
Tag: ITAL
Interview with Ken Varnum
Ken Varnum, editor of Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL), kindly agreed to meet with me last month when he was in Denver for the 2017 LITA forum. We discussed his early exposure to technology, what he reads for fun, and his vision for the future of ITAL. Below is the interview in its entirety and a copy of the transcript can be found here. Tell me a little about your background. What did you study in school? Have you always been interested in technology? “Technology has been a thread through my interests since middle school when I learned BASIC and wrote highly simplistic games on my Atari 800. At Grinnell College, I received a dual degree in history and Russian language, with a lot of political science thrown in (probably a minor had Grinnell offered one). My interest was in Cold War relations and arms control. After a few years…